PeteCarpenter.com

3/8/2010

Let’s see if I can get back into this. I know it’s been a while, and I’ll probably be repeating myself from my Twitter stream, but I think some people miss it.

• Enjoyed the first weekend of Spring-like weather with lots of time outside, firing up the grill for the first time this year, and taking the Lovely Tess on her first bus ride down to Harvard Square. Despite the lack of serious snow this Winter, it’s been a long one and I’m dying for some sunshine and warm weather.
• As if the bus ride wasn’t exciting enough, we’ll be taking the Lovely Tess on her first airplane ride this weekend. After a three year hiatus, we’ll be reinstating our yearly visit to Phoenix and Pizzeria Bianco. Oh how I’ve missed it. And this forecast is looking mighty fine.
• I really need to upgrade my camera, but in the meantime, I’ve been having a lot of fun with Hipstamatic, and app for the iPhone. The camera on the iPhone leaves a lot to be desired, so instead of hoping that it looks as good as a decent digital camera, let it mimic older analog cameras. You can swap out different lenses, film, and flashes to create very cool photos. I’m loving it right now. The only downside is that it’s pretty slow to process each shot, but in this age of instant digital photography, it’s not necessarily a bad thing to have to slow down every now and then. The Lovely Suse got me a Holga for Christmas, but until I figure out the ins and outs of devloping and printing those affordably, this will do for now. You can see some examples on Flickr.
• My suits suddenly feel naked with out a pocket square. I’ll be honest. Before I wore one for the first time, I had to look up how to properly fold one. They’re not just for Mad Men wannabees.
• I’ve been done with school for a week, and I think that I visibly look more relaxed. That nagging voice in the back of my head is now gone, and I am definitely enjoying my guilt-free relaxation time. And I finally had time to give my car the cleaning that it desperately needed after far too long. It was pretty shameful. Note to parents who let their kids eat snacks in the car: vacuum often. Even the Lovely Tess had started scolding me for how dirty the outside of my car was. That’s when you know that it’s really bad.
• We finally got to check out Coppa last weekend, and it was fan-frigging-tastic. Our favorite type of place with lots of small plates to order, and we literally wanted to order everything on the menu. Tons of hot and cold antipasti, stuzzi, salumi, pasta, and pizzas, great energy in the room, and reasonably priced. The wait can be pretty long (2+ hours), but we managed to go early (one of the benefits of having a toddler: you can eat dinner very, very early) and had only an hour wait. Smartly, they take your cell phone number and call you 20 minutes before your table is ready, so killing time in the South End is very easy. We will go back soon, hopefully. And I think that we can probably pull off bringing the Lovely Tess with us, provided that we get there when they open to avoid the wait. We’ll give it a shot.
• You know what makes for a really productive work environment? The sound of drywall being put up inches from your head.
• I’ve been a subscriber to Sirius for the past four years, and this will undoubtedly be my last one. I appreciate all of the stations and the lack of commercials, but they now nickel and dime their subscribers (royalty fees, streaming fees, etc.) to the point of feeling like I can’t justify the cost of it anymore. More often than not, I’m either on the phone, listening to NPR or podcasts, or obliging the Lovely Tess’s requests for The Ting Tings or the Roots. Add to that the ability to stream Pandora and other music services makes the subscription model unecessary. Your days are numbered, Sirius.
• I am a bit shamed to admit it, but I had my first bibimbap last week. With all of the Asian food that we eat, it’s a bit shocking that we never eat Korean food. I attribute it to a bad experience we had a number of years ago, but since then, it’s just fallen completely off our radar. Our usual Friday night “What do you want to do for dinner?” discussion suddenly took on new excitement when the idea of Korean food popped into my head, and we hit up a place nearby. What can I say? I’m a dummy. I suspect that it will go into heavy rotation ASAP.

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And It Comes to An End…

After two very long years, I am finally done with business school. For some of you, you’re probably saying, “Wow, that went by so quickly.” For others (mostly the Lovely Suse and the rest of my family) you are saying “Thank god it is finally over.” This has without a doubt been the toughest thing that I’ve ever done, not so much for the difficulty of the actual class material, but for the frantic pace that I’ve had to maintain for the last two years. Maintaining a full-time job, being a full-time husband and father, and being a full-time student pretty much pushes you to the edge of what a person can physically and mentally accomplish. Over the course of these past two years, I believe that I’ve had a total of four weeks off from school, and that includes holiday breaks. For those other 100 or so weeks, there have been cases to read, online discussion boards to participate in, papers to write, business and marketing plans to develop, presentations to prepare, seemingly endless conference calls that last until the wee hours, team dynamics to contend with, and classes to attend. Don’t get me wrong. It’s been an incredible experience with a group of supremely talented classmates, and I’ve crammed more information into my head in less time than I ever thought possible. I’ve learned so much that I hope to apply to my future endeavors, and I’ve have had the opportunity to learn from some truly great teachers (and sufferered through some pretty terrible ones).

So now what? That’s the question that obviously comes next. What the hell are you going to do with yourself now that you have this fancy-pants degree? Well, let’s take a few steps back and talk about why I chose to put myself through this in the first place. I don’t think it should come as a surprise to those of you who know me that I was not exactly content with the career path that I was on. After realizing for a number of years that I was on a path towards boredom and dissatisfaction without any idea of how to change that, I also realized that I didn’t have the skills to do much else. Business school would be an opportunity to gain some important and marketable skills that would hopefully give me a chance to take a new direction. I’ve never been one of those people who completely loved their job and couldn’t wait to get started every morning, but I’m also realistic enough to know that very few people experience that. I just want to be proud of what I do on a daily basis. Whether it’s a company or a technology or a group of people that I get to work with every day, I want to be excited, challenged, and motivated to perform every day. I know that my next job will not likely be my dream job, but it will be a step in that direction. What do I want to be when I grow up? I’ve got some ideas.

Thanks to my fellow classmates who have made this experience as great as it was and whom I realistically would not have made it through without. And of course, to the Lovely Suse and the Lovely Tess: Thank you for putting up with me for the past two years. Never once did you question me having a Friday night conference call (ok, maybe once or twice) or having to spend every weekday night doing homework or taking my computer on vacations or being away at school every month. I couldn’t have done it without your love, support and encouragement.

Now, it’s back to reality a bit. I’ve got some catching up to do. Books, movies, TV shows, sleep, family, friends, and some projects. I’ll hopefully finally have some time live a normal life and take some vacation in a couple of weeks. I can’t wait. I think we’ve earned it.

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